Locals offer a path forward at a time of division and discord

Sunday

Jul 2, 2017 at 12:01 AM

There's plenty to disagree about. Every day, national political discourse drips into local conversations and relationships and often that influence can be poisonous. We are a nation of differing opinions but what if we focused on accepting those differences in the pursuit of finding common ground? We asked a variety of people in the area to tell us what they see as our path forward, how to heal divisions and become a stronger community and nation during this holiday weekend when we celebrate the anniversary of our first successful declaration of unity.

Margie Wiggin, of HOPKINTON, host of Hopkinton Community Access and Media's show "Character Matters" and chairwoman of the Hopkinton Youth Commission:

"I think the best way forward through these challenging times is for each of us to take action and in our own small way make a difference to heal the damage and division."

As the chairwoman of the Youth Commission, she proposed and organized the first Hopkinton Multicultural Festival, with support from the newly formed Hopkinton Diversity and Cultural Alliance. The event was held June 26, with tables of food and crafts to make from Chinese, Indian, Cyprus, African-American, Vietnamese and German cultures, along with dance performances from Indian and Irish dancers.

"I am a doer. When I see or hear about a need that I can help with, I take action. In this time of political turbulence and disrespect for others, I hope to build connections and understanding in a small, but, I hope, effective way," she said. "When you drop a pebble into water, it makes ripples which expand and spread farther than the place where the pebble went in. I am hoping that the ripple effect makes our corner of the world a kinder, more respectful place and by example, spreads farther than just Hopkinton."

C. Peter Gossels, WAYLAND, an attorney and former town moderator who fled from the Holocaust as a child

"I like to think that the best thing we can do as a nation is to try to talk to each other, whether we agree or disagree with each other. And most of us do that. Some of us are unable to function when we hear a point of view very much opposed to our own and begin to think ill of the person."

Gossels said people learn something from those with whom they disagree and expand their knowledge of the world.

"I would like to see more conversation, more colloquy, more of a mixing of ideas, more listening to each other. ... I know that the world is not black and white. If you understand that and know that things are much more gray than black and white, then you can respect the views of other people."

"I think we have to begin on a local level. I think the changes that are most available to us to make fall into the category of start where you are, with what you have. ... I think most people that you meet and talk to are looking for making the world a better place for them and their families. If we can find a way to keep doing that as individuals where we are, maybe we can find some way towards common ground again."

The principle of doing to others as you would have done to you transcends many religions, she said.

"We try to have important conversations - conversations about race and gender and economic class and those things which divide us. We try to put that with a faith perspective. ... We try to open the building up as much as we can to support community concerns. We try to help passionate people find their voice."

Nour Houari, NATICK, who grew up in France and came to the United States in 2011

“America is still beloved by a lot of people inside and of course outside. This time of division, it’s like clouds and it’s going. … It will pass.”

Houari said the United States is different than other countries. Its 50 states are unique, but come together to make a nation. While there are disagreements and tough economic, social and political times, Houari questioned whether it was truly a division.

“If you don’t love your country, this country will never go forward because the first thing we need is the love. … All generations, they have in their blood the love of the country.”

Barbara Burke, 88, curator of the Upton Historical Society, UPTON

"It's a matter of getting used to the differences."

Burke said we should do unto others as we would want done to us.

"I have no sure solution, but we need to understand that each person has a right to their beliefs, just as we would hope they respect us with the same courtesy of our right to do so."

David Kennedy, 67, post quartermaster of the Upton VFW 5594, UPTON

"I don't really know what to do to help cure the situation, but it is the individual issues that divide us."

Kennedy said controversial topics such as immigration divide us as Americans, and he believes a way to fix that division is to find middle ground.

"On each individual issue, you need to be able to give a little and take a little; we just need to keep talking to find that middle ground."

Gabriel Mugerian, 92, a lifelong ASHLAND resident whose parents moved to the United States from Armenia in the early 1900s

“I think the younger generation, the ones growing up now, they are the ones that are going to have to change things. I don’t know how they are going to do it, but they have to maybe form a different party or something,” he said.

People his age are just trying to enjoy life and tend to their health. And the politicians? They are just worried about “getting back into office and making a buck.”

“They only worry about themselves, they don’t care about the people, especially the Republicans,” he said. “It seems like the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.”

Mayra Ramirez, 37, of FRAMINGHAM, Ashland business owner who came to the United States from Mexico City at age 19

“The more important part of coming together is to be part of the community… get small businesses running, parks, and stuff like that.”

Ramirez owns Mexico City Taqueria and Burger City in Ashland. Though her business, she supports the community with donations of time and money.

“We don’t care about if it’s a church or not a church, if it’s religious or political or not political. I just do it because I have the heart to do it.”

Erin Avery, 35, of FRAMINGHAM, an Ashland native who works at a software company

“I think that it’s important for people that even if they disagree with each other that they don’t cut off their relationships and that they are open to hearing other people’s positions.”

People need to be able to have reasonable conversations without anger. But with politics so divided, even having conversations at all can be tough, she admitted.

“Even though I am saying that people should be more open to it, I myself have actually been avoiding the topic as much as possible.”

Mickey Jones, Indiana resident and FRANKLIN native

"In day-to-day life, people seem to get along, personally, a lot better than they used to. The town I live in is multicultural, and people get along better now than they did 35 years ago."

"If you turn the news on, it's a big issue but, on a personal level, I see people getting on fine."

Dale Kurtz, FRANKLIN resident, Army veteran, veterans agent

"There's too much caustic conversation.. I think part of it is that we've lost personal interaction with things like texting and emails. Those are things I use and love - they're great tools - but they're not a replacement for sitting across the table from someone and having a conversation."

"This is the greatest country on Earth, and it's been through more difficult times than we face today. It went through a Civil War and, at the end of that century, was stronger than ever."

"I'd like to see more assimilation. (In the past) people came to this country and kept their heritage, but they also formed relationships with other groups. With some organizations I'm a part of, people have affinity groups, and those groups become more important (to them) than the organization as a whole."

After moving to Massachusetts from Puerto Rico, Ramos faced prejudice in local schools. Ramos said you have to accept people as they are, keep an open mind, and develop your own identity and sense of right and wrong.

"Don't let other people change what you think is right ..." she said. "I try to influence people to do good, not to listen to stuff in the radio, in the TV. Internet is very influential. Very, very influential. ... You've got to be guided by your inner self. You have to do good on your own."

Jordan Foreman, 24, of MARLBOROUGH, attended Keefe Tech and Massachusetts Bay Community College in Framingham

"Maybe Trump was the best step toward [healing our divisions], because while unity over not liking someone probably isn't the best way to unify people, it's definitely the way people are getting unified now. ... Even the people that did vote for him, now most of them are seeing he made certain promises, he said certain things and that's why they voted for him, and he's not carrying through."

Foreman said it's important to keep an open mind.

"If you are closed off and you do keep those hard and fast [opinions], like, 'No, this is what I believe, and this is the only way it can be,' one, you're not learning anything new, and two, that is how we got to this division in the first place."

“I’m very discouraged,” Cenedella said, sitting inside his home on a recent sunny afternoon. “We’re so divided. It seems we can’t compromise.”

A registered Democrat, Cenedella said others should give President Donald Trump a chance.

Between insult hurling and constant political talk, neither side of the spectrum seems to ever give in and work together.

And while Cenedella was hard pressed for a solution, he said things certainly were not always this way.

“I’m from the old school where afterwards, you got along,” he said. “You shook hands and that was it.”

Bob Moschella, MILFORD, retired teacher

Drugs, guns and health care - those are the issues Moschella said are driving national conflict.

So why not talk about them more in the community?

Public forums and meetings could be the start to gaining perspective and building understanding, Moschella said.

“We should all work together to solve these problems,” he said. “We should have more meetings.”

Abby Turcotte, HOLLISTON, recent high school graduate

Bridging the national divide and bringing about change will come from garnering a sense of positivity, Turcotte said.

“For me being a young adult coming into the world, I try to focus on what we can do,” she said.

Lately, that positivity for Turcotte has come from watching people come together and organize for common causes; from the things people can celebrate together, she said.

“All we can really focus on...is what’s going on in our communities and how we treat one another.”

Sallie Vallely, WRENTHAM, attorney

Easing the political tension is not so easily done, Vallely said, adding though that there’s surely been an absence of civil conversation.

It’s shameful that oftentimes the best of friends can’t seem to have a discussion that involves politics, she said.

“I think no longer people can have a dialogue,” Vallely said. “If you voted for Trump, if you voted for Hillary, why can’t you sit down and figure out your differences?”

Michael Bushey, 56, of MILFORD, a wine salesman

“We have to find a common ground and put Democrat and Republican aside and see what it is that will help us move forward.”

Walking around in downtown Hudson trying to find a taker for his company's wine, Bushey said national politics and government news is becoming exhausting to absorb and many are now starting to tune out.

To regain the momentum, Bushey suggested a more local approach.

"I think starting in the hometown is where it all happens,” he said.

Keith Sullivan, co-founder of HUDSON-based Medusa Brewing Company:

“The basics: we need to look past people’s differences. We all stand under the same flag.”

Sullivan, hanging art pieces in the taproom for a local art show, said citizens need to begin reading the news and respecting journalism again.

He advocated for thoughtful discussions – one of the reasons why he didn’t install a single TV in the brewery.

“Whether you think you’re informed or not, people need to get back to trusting their neighbor,” he said. “People need to talk more and spread their opinions.”

Sullivan was hopeful that things would eventually change, but said he’s somewhat disappointed with what the country has become.

“Our country is being led as a result of what the country has become,” he said. “We are a reality TV show now.”

Deborah Finkel, 59 and Eva Tipps, 18, of HUDSON:

“I think we’ve got the wrong leaders in charge in politics,” said Finkel as she was walking down Hudson’s bustling Main Street street with her daughter, Tipps. “I think we need to call in and leave our messages with senators and reps and take it directly to Congress.”

Tipps suggested that currently, political leaders are “trying to bring us together with a common enemy” rather than a “common goal.”

Neither could say how that could be achieved, but they did agree that President Trump isn’t helping the cause.

“I think we have to grit our teeth until the next presidential election,” Finkel said. “I think the person we have now, he elicits the worst in us.”

Christopher McCarthy-Latimer, chair of political science department at FRAMINGHAM State University:

"We have to focus on what we agree on, that is the first step... you have got to compromise."

McCarthy-Latimer said discussion is a key part of coming together, even though we may not always agree with another person's stance on an issue, such as health care or immigration.

"I know a lot of people are nervous, but you have to make sure your voice is heard, getting your voice heard is important for coming together."

McCarthy-Latimer also pointed how former president Ronald Reagan (R), and former house speaker Tip O'Neill (D), worked together to compromise despite having different political stances.